The Next Generation
by ktmossman0
Summary: When they are searching for a place to train new riders and raise the wild dragons Eragon and Saphira find themselves in Minas Tirith. While they are there they learn of a place that might suit their purposes and find that their first students are in that very city.
1. Unknown Lands

Eragon and Saphira flew over the plain and featureless landscape. It had been months since they had left Alegasia and if Angela's fortune-telling had been correct they might have left for good, but Eragon tried not to think about that. As of now they still hadn't found a suitable location to raise the dragons and train the new was beginning to get frustrated and had been starting to wonder if they would ever find a suitable location, but he calmed his thoughts and noticed that there was what looked like a city off in the distance.

Within the city, he could see a rather large building and the city appeared to be surrounded by walls except for the docks. Even with his elf like vision, he could not tell for sure whether it was inhabited. He consulted Saphira to see what she thought they should do next. She replied, "we should land and inform the elves of this, we can discuss with them what to do once we get back to the ship."

Eragon considered contacting the elves with his mind since they weren't out of reach, but he thought better of it. He thought that by doing so he could possibly alert potential enemies nearby or within the city, or possibly frighten potential allies.

Considering that he had gained a lot of power after discovering his true name and through the eldunari. they rarely flew with them anymore, but they had been teaching Eragon and Saphira more during their journey so they would know all they needed when the first new riders came to them. Occasionally one of the eldunari would want to get out of the cargo hold and they would take that eldunari with them when they flew. Most of the time though Curoc, the eggs, and eldunari remained on board the ship.

When Eragon and Saphira returned to the ship Eragon jumped off Saphira's back and onto the deck, while Saphira remained in the air to watch them and participate in the discussion. When Eragon told the elves what they had seen they all started asking questions at once.

Eragon raised his hand for silence. When they all quieted down Blödhgarm asked, "Eragon Could you tell if this city was inhabited?"

Eragon replied, "no we were too far away and didn't want to get any closer until we figured out what to do about it."

Invidia asked him, "could you get any idea at all of who might live there from the buildings that you could see?"

Eragon replied, "I can't be sure due to the distance but from what we could see the city appeared to be constructed by humans, and if I am right, and if the place is inhabited the people shouldn't be too much of a threat if they turn out to be enemies."

In his mind, Saphira warned him, _"you can't get overconfident Eragon, we don't know what weapons they may have or what they may be capable of. It may not even be humans there but another race we have never seen before."_

Eragon replied,_ "You don't have to worry Saphira, I am not overconfident, regardless we aren't trying to make enemies we are hoping they will be allies."_

he said to the group of elves, "that is all I know right now, I think the best plan would be to continue heading to the city and take a good look once we get closer. I will remain on the ship at least until that point; once we get a better view of the city we will probably still continue towards it. After all, we are starting to run low on food and other supplies. If this city is inhabited we will go there and talk to its inhabitants and hopefully their leader. If they are allies we will ask if there is any land in the area that is not yet inhabited and will serve our purposes. When we get closer to the city Saphira will have to fly high enough that she could be confused for a bird."

Saphira growled when he said that part, he had known she wouldn't like that part of the plan because she never wanted to leave him alone even if they were still close enough for their minds to be connected. She always wanted to be close enough that she could protect him if anything went wrong.

he continued, "If they turn out to be enemies well I suspect you know what will happen in that case. I will consult Glaedr, Umaroth, and the other eldunari, but I think that this is a good plan and that it will work."

After he finished all the elves agreed that the plan was their best option and believed that it would work. After they finished, Eragon went to consult the eldunari as he had said he would. Even if he believed that the plan would work he still thought it would be best to get their advice before they settled on his plan.

He went to consult the eldunari he told them what he and Saphira had seen and the plan he had devised. They agreed to the plan after making the suggestion that Saphira should start flying higher just before they could get a clear view of the city, they said that due to the fact that they didn't know what or who lived in the city, or even if there was anyone there at all it would be best that she start then just in case the inhabitants of the city had vision equally as strong as theirs. Since there was a chance that they could spot her before they wanted them to. Eragon agreed to this but he knew that he would have to convince Saphira to do it. He told the elves of this change to the plan and told them that he would do his best to get Saphira to go along with it even if she did it reluctantly.

**A/N This is another story that I originally posted to wattpad. Although I have edited it since then it was one of the first stories I started so there may still be some errors I missed. The fact that it was one of my first stories is also the reason why some of the chapters are quite short.**


	2. Unexpected Guests

It had been 17 years since the one ring had been destroyed and since they had defeated Sauron's forces. The land had been relatively peaceful ever since. In the weeks after the battles had ended groups of orcs had appeared and attacked, but due to their small numbers, Aragorn's forces had defeated them easily.

Later on, the goblins had tried to take over some of the dwarves' mountains. With assistance from Aragorn and some others, the dwarves were able to defeat them. Aragorn knew that today wasn't a day to think about past unrest. Today he had to make sure that the plans for the next day go as planned. He knew that Sam, Merry, and Pippin would be coming along with their families to celebratethe anniversary of their victory over Sauron. He had already sent the message to them and he knew they would most likely arrive soon.

While he waited for them to arrive, he considered how different the land had become. After they had won the war, Isengard had remained quiet ever since Gandalf had taken Sauroman's power away. Aragorn sometimes missed Gimli and Legolas; they had left with the elves along with Frodo and Bilbo. And even though they were still there he didn't see Pippin, Merry, and Sam very often due to his responsibilities as king and their own responsibilities to The Shire and their families.

The hobbits showed up later that evening. Aragorn decided to greet them himself since it had been quite a while since he had seen them. They came and they all talked as friends do telling each other about different events that had taken place since they had last seen each other. When it was starting to get late Aragorn suggested that he should lead them to their rooms so they could rest from their travels.

He told them that after their last visit he had had some hobbit sized rooms added. He left them there so they could get some rest. Aragorn thought about his eldest son, the boy was nearly as good with a sword as he was, and he had taught him about how to rule a kingdom. In addition to all that. Even with his duties as king, Aragorn had managed to teach the boy everything he knew from the history of the land to the art of swordplay. After thinking for a while Aragorn went up to bed himself.

The next morning, as the final preparations were being made for the day's events. A man came running in from outside. Once he got to Aragorn he bowed and then said, "Milord I was informed by one of the dockworkers that there is a strange looking ship coming towards this city,"

Aragorn asked the man, "what exactly do you mean by strange, What did the dockworker say it looks like?"

The man answered, "It is silver and even though there was little wind it was sailing quite quickly,"

Aragorn asked, "Could he tell who was on it and if they have weapons?"

The man answered, "It was hard for him to tell but he didn't see any weapons. As for the people on board, we can't be sure because they were still too far away, but we don't think they are human, they looked a lot more like elves,"

"Elves!" Aragorn said in surprise.

They had all left after the war. Why would they be returning now? and why would they be coming here to his city?

"What should we do about it?" the man asked him, "They will be drawing nearer by the minute."

Aragorn thought for a moment, and then he said, "let them arrive we will find out whether they are friend or foe when they get here,"

**Authors note I don't own any of the characters except for Aragorn's son and any other ocs that I add in the future. This story isn't going to stick entirely to the lord of the rings canon but I hope it's okay nonetheless.**


	3. Arrival

**Eragon's Point of View**

When they got a good view of the city, Eragon had thought that the city reminded him of Teirm. When Eragon thought of Teirm, he thought of his friend Joed. When Eragon thought of Joed a wave of homesickness hit him. He missed the land that they had been forced to abandon. He missed all his friends and family, and he wondered if he would ever see them again face to face. scrying didn't count. Saphira said in his mind, "Eragon you shouldn't worry about what is yet to come. Thoughts like those will only upset you."

He replied, _"I know Saphira, but since we have been doing nothing but traveling there has been nothing to distract me, so they continue to return."_

Early that morning Saphira had flown high into the sky to avoid anyone in the city seeing her. As Eragon had suspected she had been very reluctant to do so. It had been difficult, but he had finally managed to convince her. As they got closer to the city Eragon could tell that the city was indeed inhabited by humans. He could see them loading ships at the docks, or just walking around the city. As far as he could tell no one was armed and if they were their weapons were sheathed. Perhaps they wouldn't have to fight these people. After a second glance, he noticed a large table set up outside a large white stone building. He wondered if they were interrupting some kind of celebration.

He also noticed a man with a large crown on his head standing not far from the docks as if he was waiting for them to arrive. Beside the man stood a woman, even from this distance she appeared to be very beautiful. Eragon assumed she must be his wife. He noticed that beside her stood two boys who he assumed were their sons. The oldest boy appeared to be only a couple years younger than Eragon himself. The second boy looked to be around nine. Standing beside the king were six people who were abnormally short. They looked like humans but they were shorter than dwarves, they didn't wear any shoes and the men lacked the dwarves' beards. Behind them were four even smaller people who he assumed were their children. He wondered why the children had been allowed to come with their parents, He wondered if they had followed them without their permission.

**Aragorn's point of view**

They all walked out to the docks to get a look at the ship and the people who were on it. He could see that the man's description had been quite accurate. From what he could tell the man's description of the people on board were also quite accurate. They did look a lot like elves but one of them was different than the others. He almost looked like he was half elf and half human. Aragorn couldn't help but wonder if these people would be trustworthy or not, after all, Aragorn knew that they weren't any of the elves that he had known so he had no idea why they were here, for all he knew they could be here to try and attack the city.

**Eragon's point of view**

When they reached the docks he was the first to disembark the elves followed behind him. Cuaroc had stayed onboard the ship to protect the eggs and eldunari in case any of the locals decided to explore their ship while they were gone. The citizens who had gathered to see the unusual visitors parted when Eragon and the elves approached them. The king and his companions began to walk toward Eragon and the elves with no signs of fear. Now that Eragon could get a better look at the king, he could see that he was tall and had dark hair and grey eyes, he also had a sword sheathed at his waist. His wife was indeed beautiful she had dark hair and grey eyes. Now that he was closer he could see that the dwarf-like men also had swords. sure they were small they were more like a small knife to Eragon, but Eragon suspected that if they needed to they could use them.

Finally, the king reached him; the king said, "I am Aragorn son of Arathorn and king of the Reunited Kingdom, Arnor and Gondor. who are you and why have you come here?"

Eragon Responded saying, "I am Eragon Shadeslayer son of Brom, My companions are _Blödhgarm_, Invidia, and Yaela," and he said the names of the six other elves that were with him. Eragon Continued, "We came from another land called Alegasia." And Eragon told them about Alegasia, the war against Galbatorix, the riders and the reason they had left their homeland. He said, "we left Alegasia to find a suitable location to raise the wild dragons and train the next generation of riders. When we noticed this city we were still searching for a suitable location."

Aragorn said, "you say you are a rider yourself but I don't see a dragon with you."

Eragon replied, "she is with us, however, when we first noticed this city we convinced her to fly so high in the air that she could be mistaken for a bird. We didn't want her to frighten you or your citizens since we hoped you would be allies. I will call her if you wish to meet her now."

Aragorn said, "summon her then it will convince me that you are telling the truth, although I already suspect that you are since I don't think anyone could come up with a story like that to lie."

While Aragorn was saying this Eragon shouted with his mind, "_Saphira!"_

He sensed her diving toward the ground he said to her, "B_e careful when you land, don't trample anyone. So far they seem to trust us if you crush someone that will probably change his mind."_

_Saphira replied, "I'll be careful."_

Eragon said to Aragorn, "She is coming."

after he said this; he turned his eyes toward the sky to watch Saphira. He noticed that most of the crowd had done the same. He could see a speck in the sky that he knew was Saphira, as she went into a steep dive toward the ground the crowd parted so she would have room to land. She leveled off shortly before she hit the ground and landed with a thud. The crowd parted again as she walked toward Eragon. She stopped once she reached his side. Saphira looked at the king and his companions, Eragon could sense that she approved of him as if she could tell that he was a mighty warrior. She also seemed to approve of the dwarf-like men. Eragon said to Aragorn, "This is my dragon _Saphira Brightscales. _She can understand you if you speak to her since the dragons from our homeland are as intelligent as you or I. I apologize if we interrupted anything; I just noticed that table and wondered if we had interrupted a celebration."

Aragorn chuckled before replying, "you did actually; we were just finishing the preparations when I was informed of your arrival."

Eragon Said, "We had hoped you would know of a place that would be suitable for our needs, or at least provide us with additional supplies so we could continue our search."

Aragorn said, "I can provide supplies, but I will have to think about your other request, right now I can't think of anywhere that isn't already inhabited. While I think about it come and join us we are Celebrating the anniversary of our victory in the last war,"


	4. New Riders

Once the king invited them to join his celebration Saphira was sure that they had earned his trust. They learned that his children's names were Arathorn the oldest, and Boromir. They had guessed that the oldest boy was named after his grandfather since Aragorn had said that his father had been called Arathorn when he introduced himself, but he had not said where the other boy had gotten his name.

Although he hadn't really wanted to taint the celebration with dark thoughts, Aragorn had told them more about these lands, he had told them that 17 years before these lands had also gone through a war. He said that centuries before someone called Sauron had created rings of power that he had given to all the races, but he had created another ring for himself that could control all the others. The men who were given the rings for their race were corrupted by them and had been turned into horrible creatures that Aragorn called wraiths.

During a battle one of the humans had managed to get the one ring away from Sauron, but instead of taking the ring and destroying it he had kept it and later lost it. After the man lost it a creature whose name was Smeagol found it. Later Aragorn said that a hobbit, which was what the dwarf-like people were called, won the ring from Smeagol in a game. The Hobbit gave it to his nephew who finally took it and destroyed it while everyone else was fighting Sauron's forces. Aragorn also said that the three male Hobbits and himself had been assigned to help the ring bearer get to Mordor where he would destroy the ring. He said that he had become king after the war.

As the Celebration was winding down Saphira extended her mind back toward the ship to check on the eggs that were still stored in it. She knew that the eggs were probably fine since the eldunari were there as well as Cuaroc, and Blödhgarm had returned to the ship earlier in the day to check on them. Despite knowing that, for some reason, she felt that she should check on them.

When she could feel the younglings in their eggs she noticed that it seemed like two of them were stirring. She wondered if one of the king's boys was meant to be a rider and if so she wondered what the king would think about it. Since there were two eggs stirring she wondered if the dragon had confused one of the hobbit children for dwarf children, but she wasn't going to dispute the dragon's choice. She was just grateful that the dragons had found their riders.

She suspected that Eragon would most likely end up modifying the spell to allow hobbits to become riders as well anyway. She got Eragon's attention; he had been distracted talking to the king and the hobbits. She said, "_Eragon I checked on the eggs, I noticed that two of them are stirring, I suspect that one of the king's sons and maybe one of the hobbits could be our first new students,"_

Eragon replied, "T_he king's son I can understand, but the hobbits? they aren't even part of the spell yet,"_

Saphira replied, "_I know the only explanation I have is that they thought the hobbits were dwarves, you compared them to dwarves when we first got here didn't you?"_

_"Yes," _Eragon admitted.

Saphira said, "Now I think you should go get those eggs, so we can find out who our new students will be,"

When he invited their guests to join their celebrations, Aragorn had decided that what they had told him was true regardless of how unbelievable it sounded. They chatted, he introduced them to his sons, and he told them more about middle earth and the various races that lived there. He also told them about the war that had taken place seventeen years before. He explained what hobbits were since he suspected that they had never seen them before. He noticed when the meal was set on the table that the elves ate no meat and that Eragon the rider who appeared to be part elf and part human ate very little meat. They also brought out a very large piece of meat to the dragon Saphira.

Eragon also said more about the lands he had come from and that if it seemed like it was necessary he could alter the spell that that bonded the dragons to the various other races to include the hobbits. He would just have to contact Queen Nasuada the queen of the people where he came from, and get her to get Arya the queen of the elves to contact him before he did it.

Aragorn explained that most hobbits didn't seek adventure and were content to stay in their homes in the shire. Eragon said if it becomes necessary to add them it could be done. Aragorn saw that Eragon also chatted with the hobbits learning their names and more about them. Partway through the celebration, Eragon requested to leave the table claiming he was checking on the dragon eggs that were stored in the cargo hold of his ship. He didn't take long.

Shortly after he returned Eragon seemed to become distracted as if his attention was elsewhere. Aragorn assumed that he must be talking to Saphira since Eragon had explained that they use telepathy to communicate. When Eragon finished talking to her he said to everyone, "Saphira just informed me that when she checked on the eggs she noticed that two were stirring. This means that we have the next riders among us,"

Eragon turned to him and said, "Aragorn, I suspect That Arathorn will be one of them since riders are usually chosen when they are in their teens,"

Although he was considering what his son being one of Eragon's Students could mean Aragorn said, "Go fetch the eggs then so we will see who your first students are,"

While Eragon left to get the eggs Aragorn thought about what he would do if Arathorn was the first new rider that Eragon would train. Aragorn realized that Arathorn would not be able to be the next king if he became a rider since Eragon had said that the riders were free of authority separate from the various races of the land. Eragon had also said that riders were immortal so he knew that his son would most likely outlive all his friends and family.

When he was still considering all this Eragon returned carrying two round objects that he knew must be the eggs. One was gold, and the other was red. First Arathorn touched the red egg, and nothing happened. Eragon passed him the gold one. For a moment nothing happened but then the egg started shaking. Finally, the red egg was passed to the rest of the children until a 14-year-old hobbit named Frodo; (Sam's son) touched the egg.

Like the gold one, it started shaking. Everyone watched as cracks appeared on the eggs, eventually, pieces fell off the top of the eggs, and a small head poked out of each egg. When the dragons crawled out of their eggs the two new riders reached toward their dragons. When the boys' hands touched their dragons the boys looked like they were in pain and both boys went unconscious. When his son passed out Aragorn jumped up from his chair.

Eragon who had still been standing watching the two boys walked over to Aragorn and said, "Don't worry, they will be fine this always happens when a rider first touches their dragon, that is how the bond is created between them. When he wakes you will see a mark similar to this on his hand,"

Eragon removed his right glove and showed Aragorn a silver mark on the palm of his hand and said that it was called the gedwëy ignasia. He also said that in the ancient language of his homeland, that meant shining palm. Moments after Eragon finished speaking the two boys woke up.

Arathorn glanced at his left hand and saw a silver mark on it. Eragon explained about the gedwëy ignasia and showed him his own. Arathorn started reaching his hand toward his dragon again but he hesitated and he looked at Eragon. Eragon said, "Go ahead it won't hurt this time," Seeing Arathorn and Frodo with their dragon hatchlings brought a small smile to Eragon's face.

It also reminded him of when Saphira had hatched for him. That seemed like so long ago, Eragon had known very little about dragons then and he'd had no-one to explain what was going on. He'd been so clueless that he'd thought Saphira's egg was a gemstone until she hatched from it. His life had changed so much since then, now it seemed a new chapter was beginning.

As he watched his son and his dragon Aragorn turned to Eragon and said, "I understand that you need somewhere to train the new riders, now more than before since you have two students already. I have thought about your dilemma and decided the best option based on what you have said is Rivendell. After the war, all the elves that used to live there left these lands and the valley has sat abandoned ever since,"


	5. A New Home

Aragorn had seemed to take the fact that his son would not be able to take his place on the throne rather well. On the contrary, he seemed to be proud of his son and satisfied with the fact that his son would now be a rider. Sam, the father of the young hobbit also seemed to have accepted it although Eragon wasn't sure if it was really what Sam wanted for his son. When Aragorn started to describe Rivendell Eragon decided that the valley seemed like it might be a suitable place for them to train the new riders. His only concern was whether it was far enough from human and dwarven lands to avoid the dragons bonded and wild eating the farmers' animals. The day after they had arrived Eragon and Saphira flew to Rivendell to see it for themselves.

When they got there they looked around they could see that there were buildings still there, and they looked beautiful, but Eragon knew that they would have to start from scratch since the buildings that were already there were too small to accommodate dragons. After they had decided it was a suitable location they headed back to the city. When they got back they informed Aragorn and the elves that they had decided Rivendell was a suitable location.

The next day they were to leave for the valley, they had decided that they would transport the eggs and eldunari n an air pocket like they had done when they took them from Vronegard. The elves would ride on horses so they could transport the remainder of their supplies from the ship. The young hobbit would ride with them while Arathorn would fly with Eragon and Saphira.

Before Saphira took off Arathorn was quite nervous. During the flight, he concentrated on controlling his stomach. At one-point Eragon twisted around to look at him Eragon noticed how nervous and uncomfortable he was and said, "I was the same way the first time, but I am afraid you will have to get used to flying. When your dragon is big enough it will be the most common way you will travel,"

Arathorn accepted his statement without complaint he also suspected that it would be a while before his dragon would be big enough to ride. Later he looked around and saw a hawk fly by them, after a while, Arathorn began to get over his discomfort and even started to enjoy the flight.

Eragon, Saphira, and Arathorn reached the valley first. So Eragon decided he would start teaching Arathorn while he waited for the others so they could discuss what they needed to build and where they would build it. He turned to Arathorn and said, "Come over here while we wait for the others I want to see what you already know so I will know where to start with your training,"

Arathorn nodded and walked over to him.

"We will start with swordplay,"

When Eragon said this Arathorn suspected that he would do reasonably well since swordplay was something he was already rather good at since he already had some training with it. Due to that, he said, "My father has been teaching me to use a sword, he says that I am nearly as good as he is,"

Eragon replied, "well let's see how good you are then, Pass me your sword,"

Arathorn handed his new sword to Eragon although he was kind of confused about why he'd asked him to. Once Eragon had taken it Arathorn heard him mutter something that made no sense to him, but he assumed it had to be a spell or something since he already knew Eragon could use magic. He also saw him run his fingers along the blade without it causing him any harm.

Eragon gave him back his sword before unsheathing his own and repeating the process on it. Arathorn couldn't help but wonder how Eragon's sword had been made since it was obviously the same colour as Saphira's scales and had a large sapphire in its pommel.

Once he had finished Eragon said, "These swords will no longer cut us, but they can still break bones I would prefer to avoid that,"

Arathorn said: "how did you do that dulling the swords I mean?"

Eragon just replied, "you will find out further into your training, now let's get started."

Eragon got into the ready position that Brom had taught him so long ago, it felt like it had been years since he had been traveling with his father, although at the time he hadn't known that he was his father.

Although Arathorn was kind of disappointed that he hadn't gotten a straight answer to his question he let it go for now and got ready to fight. Arathorn was the first to move, he swung his sword toward Eragon's side. Eragon blocked the blow easily, he retaliated by swinging at the boy's shoulder Arathorn didn't get his sword up in time to block the blow and it hit his shoulder Eragon knew that Arathorn would probably have a bruise before long. After this Arathorn swung at Eragon's leg but then he turned the sword and aimed for Eragon's left shoulder once again Eragon stopped the blow since he had noticed when Arathorn had changed the direction of his blow. After a couple more failed attempts to hit Eragon, Arathorn concentrated on parrying Eragon's blows. They fought a while longer until Eragon got his sword up to Arathorn's neck.

Eragon said, "You are good, but you can still improve, you need to move around more move out of the way of blows. Don't just try to block them with your sword. Oh, and just so you know I was taking it easy on you," After Eragon said that Eragon saw a shocked expression cross the boy's face even though Arathorn tried to hide it. After this Eragon removed the block from their swords and then he asked: "how good are you with that bow?"

Eragon had Arathorn shoot several of his arrows at a nearby tree, and although he already was good he gave him instructions to help improve his accuracy. When he let Arathorn stop he called him over where he was sitting with Saphira. Eragon passed a waterskin to Arathorn since he could tell he needed it after all the practicing. They sat on the ground and talked. Eragon told the new rider more about dragons, the Riders and the lands that he had come from. Eragon leaned back against Saphira's foreleg while Arathorn sat on the ground with his little gold dragon on his lap. A little while later Eragon got up and got some firewood that he lit with a spell since he didn't have his flint and steel. He remembered to use the word istalri instead of brisingr to avoid setting his sword ablaze.

He searched through Saphira's saddlebags for some bread to eat for dinner. He handed the boy some bread and jerky he knew the new Rider would have to get used to not eating meat since he was the only reason that they had packed any meat at all. So, he wasn't surprised when Arathorn asked him, "Why don't you eat meat?"

Eragon just said, "you will understand when you are further into your training." After the words left his mouth he realized that they had been the exact same words that his own teacher Oromis had said to him when he had asked that same question. He felt a hint of nostalgia for how far he had come. He had gone from a farm boy who knew little about dragons and the world outside his tiny village, to the leader of the Riders.

He glanced at Arathorn and he saw a hint of frustration on the boy's face. Eragon suspected that he was frustrated that Eragon wouldn't answer all of his questions. When it began to get dark Eragon unrolled two bedrolls on the ground. Eragon laid his beside Saphira on one side of the fire while Arathorn and his little dragon lay down on the opposite side of the fire.


	6. Lessons and Learning

The next morning Eragon was the first to get up. While he waited for the others to wake, he decided to try and build some elven style houses like the ones in Ellesméra. He had never tried anything like that before, but he thought he had the strength necessary although the task would probably still tire him greatly. He thought the houses were a good idea because Blödhgarm and the eight other elves that had accompanied him would need somewhere to stay and he also decided to build some additional ones for possible guests. once he got them built Arathorn could stay in one of them until they had the larger halls built or until his dragon outgrew them.

Eragon thought for a while about how to phrase the spell before he attempted it. Since the Eldunari were still observing him from their air pocket they noticed what he was planning to do and gave him some advice and allowed him to use some of their strength as well. The main reason why they chose to do this was so he could succeed on his first attempt, and also because he would need to conserve some of his strength for training Arathorn and helping the elves unpack the rest of their supplies once they arrive. He wasn't going to put dragon beds in any of the houses since he was going to make different housing for the Riders. Housing that would hopefully not be damaged by the dragons' fire and claws.

When Arathorn woke he saw that Eragon was not beside Saphira as he had been the night before. Aragorn was somewhat frustrated with his new teacher, Arathorn had so many questions but Eragon had only answered a few of them. The rest always seemed to be answered with "I will tell you when you are further into your training." Arathorn understood that there must be good reasons for not telling him yet, but it was still frustrating. He decided to go find Eragon. Hopefully, he would answer some of his other questions.

When Arathorn found Eragon, he stopped in his tracks in shock and stayed back to watch what Eragon was doing. He knew that Eragon must be using magic since the tree that was in front of him was gradually changing. Eragon was singing in a language that Arathorn hadn't heard before. He assumed the language had to be from Eragon's homeland. As Eragon sang the tree gradually changed.

As Arathorn watched the base of the tree bulged outward, windows and a door formed in the trunk. He also saw windows higher up so he knew that the house must have to levels. Somehow Eragon was making a house out of a tree. Arathorn was still too far away to see the interior of the house but he suspected that it had several rooms, and possibly even furniture.

Arathorn was having trouble comprehending what he was seeing, and he just stood there gaping. He probably looked like an idiot, but he couldn't really help it. He'd never seen anyone use magic before much less use it for a task that large. He'd heard of Gandalf, who'd been a good friend of his father's as well as the other wizards, but he didn't really know what they were capable of. He wasn't sure but he thought that they might not have even been capable of doing what Eragon was. Arathorn also knew of the Elves who used to live in the very valley they were currently in. They had most likely been capable of doing what Eragon was, but Arathorn still wasn't certain.

Arathorn Just continued to stand there staring until Eragon finished. Somehow during the time Arathorn had been standing there Eragon managed to finish the first house as well as a second one. Once he finished, he turned and saw him standing there staring. Arathorn turned away from the houses and looked at Eragon.

Eragon said, "For now you can have that house, you can stay there until your dragon gets too big for it," he was pointing at the first house he had made. "I will be building other houses for the riders that will be large enough to house a fully-grown dragon,"

Eragon said, "Come with me." They walked back to where Saphira still lay on the ground. As far as Arathorn could tell she was still sleeping but when they got closer, she yawned, showing her razor-sharp teeth. As he saw that Arathorn was thankful that his father had accepted Eragon and Saphira as allies. He also realized that his dragon would eventually be that size. Eragon had sat back down beside her and was rooting through her saddlebags. He had removed her saddle the day before when they had arrived.

Eragon took out food for them both. When they had finished eating Eragon said, "I am going to teach you the Ancient language from my homeland. Not everyone from my homeland speaks this language, only the elves use it for everyday conversations. Humans use the common tongue, while the dwarves and urgals have their own languages. The only humans, Dwarves, and urgals, that use this language can't speak it fluently they just use it for using magic. Not many People can use magic. The ability is most common among the elves,"

Eragon continued, "When you are further into your training you might be sent to my homeland if we need to communicate with the leaders of the different races, or if trouble arises there," Arathorn was slightly nervous when he said that. The thought of leaving his homeland for one that he knew almost nothing about to act as a messenger was slightly frightening. Eragon was still speaking, "Once the elves arrive with the rest of the supplies, I will also start teaching you to write the ancient Language,"

So Eragon began to tell him different words from the language, what they meant, and how to pronounce them properly. When the lesson on the language was finished Eragon said, "I assume that you have discovered that you can communicate with your dragon with your mind,"

Arathorn answered "yes I did figure that out and I have been communicating with it that way since. I haven't figured out whether my dragon is male or female yet though,"

Eragon chuckled at this and said, "yes it can be hard to tell at first," Eragon was remembering how he had taken a while to realise that Saphira was female. After Eragon's response, Arathorn could hear Saphira making a noise he hadn't heard her make before he realized that she must be laughing. Arathorn didn't know what was so amusing, but he listened as Eragon continued speaking, "If you want to name your dragon now, I will tell you some dragon names and we can see if your dragon likes any of them,"

Arathorn agreed so Eragon told him different dragon names that he knew. So far Arathorn's dragon didn't like any of them. Eventually, Eragon said, "Vanilor,"

At that name, he sensed satisfaction coming from the gold dragon. It had grown since it had first hatched and now it was about the same size as a small dog. Arathorn said to the dragon, "Vanilor it is then,"

Since the little dragon had chosen a name Eragon said, "Now that is settled, Arathorn if you hadn't already guessed this you can speak with more than just your dragon with your mind. You can communicate with anyone using your mind including animals; however, communicating with someone in this method is an invasion of privacy so only do it if you have the person's permission or if it is absolutely necessary,"

You may not be able to do this yet though, I discovered I could do it not long after Saphira hatched, but my father, Brom, who was one of my teachers, told me that riders often take longer than I did to discover that ability. I am uncertain when you may be able to do that, everyone is different so that is something you will have to discover on your own, "


	7. Communication

Eragon let Arathorn have a brief break from training because there was something Eragon wanted to do. He reached into Saphira's saddlebags and pulled out the mirror that he had brought with him. Now that they'd found a place where they could train new riders, he decided to Contact Nasuada to tell her. He held the mirror and said, "draumr kópa" (dream stare) the mirror turned white for a moment and then an image of one of the rooms in Nasuada's castle appeared and the person in front of the mirror was one of the many people Eragon missed every day.

It was Jörmundur, He had a slightly surprised look on his face clearly surprised to hear from Eragon. he said, "Shadeslayer, it is nice to see you again. What has happened to you these past months? We haven't had any news since you left,"

Eragon replied, "if you can go find Nasuada I will tell you,"

As Jörmundur left to find Nasuada a wave of homesickness hit Eragon as he thought about everyone he had left behind. Most of all he missed Arya the only woman he had ever loved. He knew that Saphira also missed Fírnen. Eragon knew he shouldn't dwell on such thoughts, that they would only upset him, but it was hard not to think about those he had left behind. As he was trying to calm his thoughts Jörmundur returned with Nasuada following behind him.

They walked over to the mirror and Nasuada spoke. She said, "It is good to hear from you again, what has happened these past months? why haven't you contacted us sooner?"

Eragon answered, "It may have taken quite some time, but we have found a suitable location to train the new riders and raise the wild dragons,"

Eragon explained how a few days earlier they had noticed the city and had decided to stop there to see if it was inhabited and if it was to see if the inhabitants could help them. He explained that when they reached the city, they had met the king and had told them what they were doing and asked if he could help them in any way.

Eragon told them how the king had invited them to eat with them and how he had told him the smaller people and found out that they were called hobbits. He explained how they had unknowingly interrupted a celebration. Then he said that partway through the celebration Saphira had told him that two of the eggs were stirring as if their riders were nearby. He explained how he had told the king this and had left to get the eggs so they could find out who their first students would be.

After he said this Nasuada said, "You already have two new students!" she sounded surprised but pleased.

Eragon answered, "yes a gold egg hatched for the Prince while a red one hatched for one of the young hobbits,"

Nasuada said, "wait a minute you said that an egg hatched for a member of a race that is not yet included in the spell?"

Eragon said, "Yes I don't understand it either, the only explanation I could come up with is that the dragon thought the hobbit was a dwarf. Nothing like this has happened before,"

Eragon continued, "I explained that if it becomes necessary, I could add hobbits to the spell. If the need arises, I will have to get you to contact Arya, and get her to contact me,"

Nasuada said, "if you decide that hobbits will need to be added to the spell let me know and I will contact her,"

Eragon agreed before continuing his story saying, "after the celebrations had ended the king mentioned one place that might suit or needs. The next day Saphira and I flew there and determined that it was a suitable location. We spent the rest of that day preparing to leave the king's city. The next day The Prince whose name is Arathorn flew here on Saphira with me. The hobbit rider and the elves are coming on horseback with what is left of our supplies along with some additional supplies the king has given us. They should arrive later today,"

"Where is the new rider? I would like to meet him," Nasuada asked.

"I can get him," Eragon said, "I was training him earlier, but I stopped to contact you,"

"You have started to teach him all ready?" Nasuada asked him.

" Yes, I wanted to get an idea of his abilities since I already knew that he could use a sword and bow." Eragon answered. He continued, "however, I don't intend to teach him magic until further into his training. The only reason Brom taught me about it when he did was because I discovered it myself,"

"Since we are talking, I have news for you as well Eragon," Nasuada said.

"Oh, what has happened," Eragon asked.

"the egg that you left with the dwarves has hatched, Arya and Fírnen will teach them until the dragon is large enough to fly to you,"

"That is great," Eragon said, pleased by the news.

Suddenly Eragon heard footsteps behind him, he turned but since he had had much practice, he still managed to keep the image of Nasuada and Jörmundur from fading. Eragon could see that it had been Arathorn and his dragon that had walked up behind him. He motioned for Arathorn to sit next to him he did and Eragon said: "Arathorn, come here for a moment,"

Eragon Introduced Arathorn to Nasuada and Jörmundur. He had mentioned Nasuada to Arathorn before when he was telling him about Alegasia, and after a short conversation between the three, where Nasuada and Jörmundur asked Arathorn more about himself, Eragon ended his spell.

After this, Eragon and Arathorn sparred again, and Arathorn took Eragon's advice dodging more of Eragon's blows instead of just trying to block them all with his sword. Later that afternoon the elves and Frodo arrived with the rest of their supplies. They spent the rest of that day unpacking their supplies.

When Frodo and the elves had gotten to Rivendell, Frodo was surprised to see that Eragon must have started building already. He saw two strange looking trees when he looked away for a moment and looked at them again he decided that his eyes weren't playing tricks on him he realized that the two trees had been turned into houses. Although Frodo didn't have the slightest idea how Eragon had done it. Frodo had never expected to go on any adventures like his father had.

His father had told him the story of how he had accompanied the ring bearer his namesake to destroy the one ring. However, he hadn't told him until recently saying that he was too young. Until he had told the story Frodo had never understood why some of the other hobbits looked down on his father as if he had committed a crime. He supposed that those hobbits are the hobbits that disapprove of traveling and going on adventures. But many others especially the younger hobbits asked him to recount the story of his adventure.

His father hadn't taught him to use a sword saying that the land was now at peace so he would not need it but now Frodo guessed that he would have to learn how to use a sword Along with many other things. Frodo had been shocked when the red egg had hatched for him. For one thing, Eragon had explained that there was a spell that bound the different races to the dragons he had explained how humans, elves, dwarves, and another race that only lived in Eragon's homeland which he had called urgals, could become riders. Frodo couldn't understand how he had been chosen when hobbits weren't part of the spell.

As they traveled, he had tried to start a conversation with the elves, but they didn't seem to be interested in talking. However, they had asked him a few questions about himself and hobbits in general. He was slightly embarrassed that he had to ride in front of one of the elves so the elf could make sure he didn't fall off. Frodo was excited but nervous as they rode down into the valley he was nervous because he didn't know what to expect or how he would do learning everything he would need, but he was also excited to learn new things and possibly go on adventures like his father had. He knew that both he and Arathorn had found it hard to say goodbye to their families because they didn't know when they would see them again.

After they got to the valley floor Eragon and his dragon who Frodo remembered was called Saphira came walking toward them he saw Arathorn running along behind them. He was glad that Arathorn would be there with him it would be good to have a friend with him as he was trained although he expected that Arathorn would do better in his training then he would because he already had experience with a sword and bow while Frodo would have to start from the basics.

When Eragon reached them Eragon and the elves began to unpack the supplies. Frodo and Arathorn offered to help but for some reason, Eragon said that they didn't need help Frodo wondered if there were things that Eragon and the elves didn't want them to see. Frodo and Arathorn watched as they lifted many of the heavier items with magic. After they had taken all the saddlebags off the horses, they built several more of the tree houses so that there were now enough to house Frodo, Arathorn and all the elves.

Frodo didn't understand why Eragon hadn't built one for himself but after he thought about it, he guessed why. He guessed that Saphira would never fit into one of those houses so he thought that might be why Eragon hadn't built one for himself he wanted to stay with his dragon even if that meant being outside.

Frodo walked into his house, it was the one next to Arathorn's he could tell as soon as he walked in that it hadn't been built with hobbits in mind, but then he remembered that Eragon had said that this was just temporary.

The next morning Eragon got one of the elves to spar with Arathorn while he spoke to Frodo to find out how much he would have to teach him. Before the young hobbit left with the elves, his father had given him his sword saying that Frodo would need it more than he did. Eragon still couldn't understand how the young hobbit had been chosen when his race wasn't yet bound to the dragons. They went into the house where Frodo was staying and sat at a table that Eragon had created when he had sung the house into shape. Eragon asked the young hobbit what he already knew. He explained that he could read and write but he hadn't been taught how to use a sword or any other weapon for that matter. he explained that his father had thought it unnecessary since the land was currently at peace.

Eragon understood, his uncle hadn't taught him how to read he had only learned when Brom had taught him while they were in Teirm. Eragon and Frodo went back outside, and he showed the hobbit the different forms that Brom had taught him. He also tried to suggest ways that the hobbit could be a good swordsman despite his short stature. The hobbit tried the forms that Eragon had shown him. when he wasn't doing them quite right Eragon would point out his mistakes and get him to start over.

Like anyone the young hobbit got slightly discouraged when he would mess up the forms. Despite that he never let it upset him too much since he was determined to succeed and become the rider Eragon wanted him to be. Since his father had been a hero Frodo wanted to live up to his father's example and that of his namesake.


End file.
